Landis Brothers Co. v. Lawrence

[500]

JAMISON, J.,

pro

tem.

Plaintiff brought this action to recover alleged unpaid rent that accrued under a lease of real property executed by plaintiff to defendants Lawrence and Comstock, copartners, doing business under the name of Lawrence & Comstock, and against Alex. P. Porni, to whom said lease was assigned, said Porni having died after the commencement of this action, the executrix of his estate, Nettie L. Porni, was substituted as a defendant in his place. and stead.

The lease was executed on June 22, 1914, and was for a term of nine years, four months and eight days, with a rental of $5,000 a year, $2,500 thereof to be paid on the execution of the lease, $5,000 on October 1, 1914, and $2,500 on the first days of June and October in each year thereafter up to and including October, 1922.

Lawrence & Comstock assigned the said lease to said Porni on January 3, 1917, and said Porni took possession of the leased premises and paid the rent on the same up to and including June, 1918. No rent was paid thereafter nor was any demand made for the payment of the same up to the time of the commencement of this action.

Appellant was organized as a corporation on September 23, 1910, and continued to exist as such until March, 1917, when it was suspended for failure to pay its license tax. Thereafter, on July 2, 1923, upon payment of its license tax and penalties, it was restored .to its rights to do business as a corporation and since then has been and now is a duly existing corporation. At the date of the revocation of the right of appellant to do business as a corporation for the nonpayment of the license tax, the three directors were Harry Landis, Charles W. Landis and Anthony Landis, they being the owners of the entire capital stock of said corporation, each of them owning one-third thereof.

On April 14, 1917, a deed for all of the real estate described in the said lease was executed in the name of said corporation by Harry Landis, its president, and Charles W. Landis, its secretary, to the said Charles W. Landis, with the seal of the corporation affixed thereto. This deed was recorded in Sacramento County records on May 17, 1917, and in the San Joaquin County records on June 13, 1917, these being the two counties in which said land is situated.